The present invention relates generally to additive manufacturing, and more particularly to methods for incorporating identification codes into additively manufactured components.
Additive manufacturing is a process in which material is built up layer-by-layer to form a component. Additive manufacturing is also referred to by terms such as “layered manufacturing,” “reverse machining,” “direct metal laser melting” (DMLM), “selective laser sintering” (SLS), stereolithography (SLA), and “3-D printing.” Such terms are treated as synonyms for purposes of the present invention.
With the present rapid maturation of 3-D printing technology, more accurate printers and modeling tools are becoming commercially available at decreasing cost. One problem associated with this cost decrease is the ease of creating inexpensive replicas that can place inferior components in the market.
In some applications, for example gas turbine engines, particularly aircraft gas turbine engines, counterfeit parts pose a severe risk to engine integrity.